It’s undeniable that smartphones, especially those in the flagship tier, cost much more than they used to. In fact, a RM4,000 premium flagship is considered “affordable” in this day and age. But have you ever wondered how much they actually cost for manufacturers to build?
iPhone 16 Pro costs Apple about RM2,511 in material to build
To find out how much one of Apple’s latest smartphones, specifically the iPhone 16 Pro costs Apple to make, Nikkei, a Japanese-based news site, did a teardown with the smartphone, and found out that its bill of materials (BOM) amounted to USD568 (approx. RM2,511). This is approximately 6% more than the BOM Apple spent with the iPhone 15 Pro from last year.
An image of a breakdown of the iPhone 16 Pro’s BOM provided by Nikkei was shared by tech leaker @Jukanlosreve on X (formerly Twitter). The image revealed that the device’s Samsung-supplied M14 OLED display costs USD110 (approx. RM486), while its camera modules cost USD91 (approx. RM402).
Arguably the most expensive material in the iPhone 16 Pro is the Apple A18 Pro chip, which amounts to USD135 (approx. RM596). This contributed to nearly one-fourth of the iPhone 16 Pro’s total BOM.
Google Pixel 9 Pro costs around RM1,795 in BOM
Nikkei also revealed the BOM for the Google Pixel 9 Pro, which totals up to approximately USD406 (approx. RM1,795), making it 28.5% cheaper to build than the iPhone 16 Pro.
An image from Nikkei shows that the Tensor G4 chipset on the Pixel 9 Pro cost Google USD80 (approx. RM354) to make, while the Samsung-supplied M14 AMOLED display, as well as the camera components cost USD75 (approx. RM332) and USD61 (approx. RM270) respectively.
This marks an 11% decrease as compared to the BOM of the Pixel 8 Pro released last year. Although the cost of the Tensor G4 chip costs 7% more to build than the Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 Pro, the display and camera costs went down by 30%.
However, this didn’t come as a surprise as the display and camera on the Pixel 9 Pro are smaller than that of the Pixel 8 Pro. Therefore, this isn’t exactly a fair comparison. A comparison of BOM between the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 8 Pro would show us a more accurate comparison, but the report did not do so, unfortunately.
BOM is just a part of the cost of making a smartphone
At the end of the day, the cost of producing and selling a smartphone doesn’t just stop at its BOM. Additional costs from shipping, marketing, running retail shops, and even discounts and sales all contribute to the final retail price of a smartphone.
iPhone 16 series retail prices in Malaysia
As a refresher, here are the retail prices of the iPhone 16 series in Malaysia:
- iPhone 16 128GB – RM3,999
- iPhone 16 256GB – RM4,499
- iPhone 16 512GB – RM5,499
- iPhone 16 Plus 128GB – RM4,499
- iPhone 16 Plus 256GB – RM4,999
- iPhone 16 Plus 512GB – RM5,999
- iPhone 16 Pro 128GB – RM4,999
- iPhone 16 Pro 256GB – RM5,499
- iPhone 16 Pro 512GB – RM6,499
- iPhone 16 Pro 1TB – RM7,499
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB – RM5,999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB – RM6,999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB – RM7,999
Google Pixel 9 series retail prices in Malaysia
As for the Google Pixel 9 series, here’s how much they cost here in Malaysia:
- Pixel 9 128GB – RM3,999
- Pixel 9 256GB – RM4,499
- Pixel 9 Pro 128GB – RM5,199
- Pixel 9 Pro 256GB – RM5,699
- Pixel 9 Pro 512GB – RM6,299
- Pixel 9 Pro XL 128GB – RM5,699
- Pixel 9 Pro XL 256GB – RM6,199
- Pixel 9 Pro XL 512GB – RM6,799
- Pixel 9 Pro XL 1TB – RM7,999
iPhone 16 Pro costs Apple around RM2511 to make, nearly 30% more than Google’s Pixel 9 Pro
News Reports PH
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